Keith’s ‘miracle’ as daughter Mia is top student

KEITH Duffy has said that he is the ‘proudest papa in the world’ after his daughter Mia graduated from secondary school with the award for Student of the Year.

The teenager was diagnosed with autism when she was 18 months old and didn’t speak until she was seven.

In a heartfelt Instagram post, the Boyzone singer gushed about his 18-year-old daughter’s achievement.

‘Miracles do happen! Never take No for an answer! She did go to school, she did overcome every obstacle,’ he wrote.

‘She took the blows and she did fight forward! Thank you Loreto College, Swords, you’ve been amazing! She graduates and is awarded Student of the Year! I’m the proudest Papa in the world.’

The former Coronation Street star, 43, attended the ceremony with his wife Lisa, and also posted footage of the moment a shocked Mia went up to collect her award on stage.

Since his daughter’s diagnosis, Duffy, pictured left with Mia, has been a constant advocate for autism support services.

Speaking last year in the documentary Let Me In, which focused on children with autism, Duffy offered advice to parents who are in a similar situation to him.

‘One of the most important steps for a parent of a child with autism is to stop mourning the child that they thought they had and start embracing the child that they have,’ he said.

‘When they decide to do that, the world becomes a brighter place and every kind of success the child has becomes a celebration,’ he added.